Insurrection Act, College Basketball Fixing Scheme, & "Are You Dead?" App

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Adam Rogers
January 16, 2026

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President Trump threatened Thursday to invoke the Insurrection Act and deploy military troops to Minneapolis in response to protests against federal immigration enforcement.
The 1807 law would allow the president to use the military for domestic law enforcement and federalize the National Guard over state objections. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said he would challenge the action in court.
Protests intensified after ICE officer Jonathan Ross fatally shot Renee Good on January 7. Bystander video shows Ross firing at least three times as Good's SUV began moving, though DHS claims she used the vehicle as a weapon and that Ross suffered internal bleeding during the encounter. On Wednesday, another officer shot a man after being attacked during a chase.

Federal prosecutors charged 20 men Thursday in a scheme to manipulate college basketball game scores for gambling profits. The indictment alleges 39 players across 17 NCAA Division I teams accepted bribes of $10,000 to $30,000 per game to intentionally miss shots or commit fouls, fixing 29 games over the past two seasons.
Fifteen defendants played college basketball during the 2023-24 or 2024-25 seasons. Four players charged in the scheme competed for their current teams within the past week, though their alleged violations occurred at previous schools or in prior seasons. Schools involved include DePaul, Fordham, Tulane, Saint Louis, and New Orleans. Five other defendants acted as fixers who recruited players and placed bets.
NCAA president Charlie Baker said enforcement staff has opened investigations into approximately 40 players from 20 schools and called for eliminating bets on individual player statistics to protect athletes from manipulation.

San Francisco will offer free childcare to families earning less than $230,000 a year, addressing a cost-of-living crisis where childcare averages $20,000 to $30,000 per child annually. Families earning up to $310,000 qualify for a 50% subsidy. The program will be funded by $550 million from a 2018 voter-approved tax measure.
San Francisco calculates eligibility using area median income rather than federal poverty guidelines to reflect the city's extreme costs. The area median income for a family of four is $155,850, compared to the federal poverty level of $32,150. Federal guidelines consider childcare affordable if it costs less than 7% of family income—a threshold even six-figure earners cannot reach in the Bay Area without assistance.
Similar initiatives are happening in other cities and states. New York City announced free childcare for two-year-olds last week, and New Mexico became the first state to offer universal free childcare in November.

ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan resigned to run for Congress in Ohio, joining a crowded Republican primary challenging Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur. (More)

The Department of Health and Human Services reinstated $2 billion in mental health and substance abuse funding, one day after announcing the cuts, after facing public pressure. (More)

Trump unveiled a health care plan Thursday aimed at lowering costs, but the proposal lacks key details and mostly repeats previous ideas like sending government subsidies directly to patients instead of insurers. (More)

Spanish police broke up a cocaine ring that used young swimmers to plant drugs on ships, then armed members boarded the vessels to retrieve them before reaching European ports. (More)

Britain will raise the age limit for calling up military veterans from 55 to 65 and extend the recall period to 18 years under new measures aimed at preparing the nation for potential war. (More)

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney made the first visit to China by a Canadian leader in eight years to repair ties, aiming to reduce Canada's 75% trade dependence on the US. (More)

US stock markets closed higher on Thursday (S&P +0.26%, Nasdaq +0.25%, Dow +0.60%). Microchip and bank stocks drove gains after back-to-back losing sessions. (More)

The US completed its first sale of Venezuelan oil worth $500 million. Trump said proceeds will be split among Venezuelans, US companies, and the government following Maduro's arrest. (More)

Sports tycoon Stanley Kroenke became America's largest private landowner after buying nearly 1 million acres of New Mexico ranchland, bringing his total holdings to 2.7 million acres. (More)

Seattle Seahawks Pro Bowl quarterback Sam Darnold expects to play Saturday in the divisional round against the San Francisco 49ers despite a left oblique injury that limited him in practice. (More)

After 14 years leading Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy is stepping down, ending a tenure that began in 2012 after Disney’s $4 billion Star Wars acquisition and George Lucas’s exit. (More)

Former Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh is finalizing a deal to become the New York Giants' next head coach, ESPN reported. (More)

Verizon will give $20 credits to customers affected by a 10-hour outage on Wednesday that shut down voice and data service across its network. (More)

Researchers discovered T. rex grew until age 40, not 25, by finding hidden growth rings in fossilized bones with special light that showed the dinosaur developed far more slowly than believed. (More)

Four astronauts returned to Earth early Thursday after a medical issue forced NASA to end their space station mission a month early. (More)

The World Sports Photography Awards winners.

“Are you dead?” app is 6th on the popularity chart.

The least crowded and cheapest days to visit Disney World.

This might make you rethink asking for lemons in your restaurant water.

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